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Dr. Slump
Viz Media | publisher_other = Glénat Star Comics Planeta DeAgostini Comics Carlsen Comics Japonica Polonica Fantastica Conrad Comics House | demographic = Shōnen | magazine = Weekly Shōnen Jump | first = 1980 | last = 1984 | volumes = 18 | volume_list = List of Dr. Slump chapters }} TF1 Italia 1 Canal 5/Unicable Etc...TV TV2 TVC TVE TVG Magic Kids | first = 8 April 1981 | last = 19 February 1986 | episodes = 243 | episode_list = List of Dr. Slump Arale-chan episodes }} TVC Canal 5/Unicable | first = 26 November 1997 | last = 22 September 1999 | episodes = 74 | episode_list = List of Dr. Slump (1997) episodes }} is a Japanese gag manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The title was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic ''Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes. The 18 tankōbon were adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation that ran from 1981 to 1986 consisting of 243 episodes and a remake series consisting of 74 episodes that ran from 1997 to 1999. The series helped launch Toriyama's career and was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen and shōjo manga in 1982. Themes Dr. Slump is filled with puns and bathroom jokes, and parodies of both Japanese and American culture. For example, one of the recurring characters is "Suppaman", a short, fat, pompous buffoon who changes into a Superman-like costume by eating a sour-tasting ("suppai" in Japanese) umeboshi. Unlike Superman, Suppaman can't fly well, and instead pretends to fly by lying belly down on a skateboard and scooting through the streets. Also, a policeman in Dr. Slump can be seen wearing a Star Wars-style storm trooper helmet, just as in the American movies. Plot Dr. Slump is set in , a place where humans co-exist with all sorts of anthropomorphic animals and other objects. In this village lives Senbei Norimaki, an inventor (his name is a pun on a kind of rice cracker). His nickname is "Dr. Slump" (a joke that can be seen as similar to nicknaming an author "Writer's Block.") In the first issue, he builds what he hopes will be the world's most perfect little girl robot, named Arale Norimaki (a pun on another kind of rice cracker), in scenes obviously parodying the Italian children's classic Pinocchio (note: "Arale" is Toriyama's official romanized spelling of her name). Because Senbei is a lousy inventor, she soon turns out to be in severe need of eyeglasses. She is also very naïve, and in later issues she has adventures such as bringing a huge bear home, having mistaken it for a pet. To Senbei's credit, she does have super-strength (and, in a Dragon Ball crossover she proved to be genuinely stronger than the young Son Goku, prompting him to train harder). In general, the manga focuses on Arale's misunderstandings of humanity and Senbei's inventions, rivalries, and romantic misadventures. In the middle of the series, a continuously-appearing villain shows up, based on Toriyama's editor at the time. Characters Names are in the Western order, with the family name after the given name. The Norimaki family ; : (Anime 1), Yūsaku Yara (Anime 2) :Penguin Village's goofy and lecherous genius inventor. Arale calls him . He can also transform into a more handsome, taller version of himself (for a very brief period of three minutes). When in this state he very strongly resembles Tony Stark, the billionaire inventor of Iron Man. His name becomes Senbee according to its kanji writing while a rice cracker is senbei (煎餅), and they are phonetically the same. His daily meal only consists of 3-minute cup noodles. ; :Senbei's strange, myopic "sister" is actually a robot created by Senbei. Arale is very naïve but extremely powerful, with abilities that range from the terrain splitting Earth Breaker (in Japan, ) to the beam-like N'cha Cannon (Japanese: ). Essentially, she is the main character of the comic. ; / Gadzilla "Gatchan" Norimaki : (Anime 1), Chie Sawaguchi (Anime 2) :A green-haired, cherub-like creature with wings, hatched from an egg brought home by Senbei from a time traveling trip; later it (or he/she as the comic is ambiguous) reveals the inexplicable ability to clone itself. Gatchan eats almost anything, rubber being the only exception, and particularly seems to like metal. It can also shoot rays from its antennae. Gatchan speaks in its own language, which consists primarily of sounds like "poo pee poh" that Arale (and later, Turbo) somehow seem to understand. It is eventually revealed that Gatchan was actually an angel sent by God to prevent the further development of human civilization. After seeing that other civilizations eventually destroyed themselves and the planets they lived on, God deposited an angel egg on Earth in its distant past. Gatchan's abilities should have ensured that humanity would remain both primitive and innocent. Seeing that Gatchan failed in the mission (due to Senbei's accidental intervention), God resolved to destroy humanity himself. However, after seeing the life of Penguin village and how consequently happy his little cherubim were, he relinquished both Gatchan and the Earth to their own fates. Gatchan's real name is a combination of the names of Gamera and Gojira (the latter known as Godzilla in the West), hence it's known as "Gadzilla" in the English version, although Gatchan is occasionally referred to as Gajira (or sometimes "Gazira") at times. ; : :Senbei and Midori's first son, who is nearly killed by aliens and then revived by them, in the process accidentally imbuing him with many super powers including teleportation, flight, and telekinesis. Consequently, he is also a genius, the likes of which surpass even his own father. ; : (Anime 1), Yuko Minaguchi (Anime 2) :Arale's beautiful teacher and Senbei's dream girl. After a long period of unrequited love and nervous misunderstandings, Senbei proposes to her while thinking she is out of earshot. Surprisingly, she accepts immediately (while on the toilet, no less) and they are married in the next manga panel, becoming Mrs. Midori Norimaki. ; : (Anime 1), Motoko Kumai (Anime 2) :A humanoid robot based on Arale's design that was built by Dr. Mashirito, who instead made him male and removed certain qualities he found "annoying." Initially dubbed "Caramel Man #4" by Dr. Mashirito, he is both extremely polite and well-mannered. Soon afterward, however, Arale renames him . He later becomes a love interest for Arale; in fact, a "future" visit into the Dr. Slump timeline (done during the story) shows the two of them married and with a (robotic) baby made by Senbei. ; : (Anime 1) :Also known as Mr. Time in the english translation. He is a talking clock built by Senbei that is part of his time traveling invention called the time slipper. He often takes Arale or Senbei through time. The Kimidori family ; : (Anime 1), Hiroko Konishi (Anime 2) :Arale's "bad girl" friend. She is called "Akane-chin" by Arale instead of "Akane-chan." She starts dating (and eventually marries) Tsukutsun Tsun late in the series. ; : (Anime 1), Hiroko Emori (Anime 2) :Akane's older sister, who works at the local coffee shop, the Coffee Pot. Also a terrible car driver. ; : (Anime 1), Hideyuki Tanaka (Anime 2) :Akane and Aoi's father. ; :Akane and Aoi's mother, who is always wiggling her butt and acting bubbly. She is the younger sister of Taro and Peasuke's mother, Mame Soramame. The Soramame family ; : (Anime 1), Shinichirō Ōta (Anime 2) :Arale's "bad boy" friend at school. He is usually seen trying to act "cool," which often manifests itself in a number of bad habits. After graduating from high school, he becomes a police officer (because he is allowed to carry a gun and wear dark glasses all the time). He starts dating (and eventually marries) Tsururin Tsun late in the series. ; : (Anime 1), Megumi Urawa (Anime 2) :Taro's little brother who always wears an animal hat. Has a crush on a younger but taller girl named Hiyoko, whom he marries sometime in the comic's future. In the same future (by some time in 1994), they also have a child named Poosuke. ; : (Anime 1), Nobuaki Kanemitsu (Anime 2) :The father of the Soramame family and a barber. Looks similar to Clint Eastwood. Also somewhat perverted – much like Senbei Norimaki and Tsuruten Tsun – but does a much better job of hiding it a majority of the time. ; : (Anime 1) :Taro and Peasuke's rather short mother, who wears an animal cap much like Peasuke does. She is also Murasaki Kimidori's older sister. ; :A pet tortoise of Taro and Peasuke which has a name for dogs. The Tsun family A Chinese family whose spaceship crash landed in Penguin Village. In the manga, their (Japanese) speech is shown in the text balloons as written entirely in kanji (including "ateji"; kanji used for pronunciation of foreign words), and as such, would make no sense to Chinese readers; e.g. "anata" (you, or darling) is rendered as 穴田 (ana + ta; namely hole + rice field), laughter ("hahaha") is written as 八八八 (3 × eight). As for the names of this family, there seems to be no kanji that independently reads tsun in common Japanese, so the kanji of "摘" and "詰" are used, each of which is a part of the word "tsunda". A few notes for their speech in the manga: A kanji of "死" (death) is used for "desu" (です; a suffix for expressing politeness) because the sound in English is similar. And since it seems to be impossible to turn a part of "run" (るん) into kanji, a musical note is used instead because that part can make a word "runrun" which expresses humming or singing in a happy mood. ; : (Anime 1), Houko Kuwashima (Anime 2) :The daughter of the family. She has various super powers, such as telekinesis and teleportation. She starts dating (and eventually marries) Taro Soramame late in the series. ; : (Anime 1), Ryoutarou Okiayu (Anime 2) :The son of the family, who practices kung fu (including taijiquan). Although normally not as strong as the powerful Arale or Gatchan(s), when extremely angry he becomes more powerful than both. For some reason, whenever he is touched by a girl he turns into a tiger and cannot change back unless touched by a guy. To his confusion, Arale does not trigger this transformation since she is not a real girl. He starts dating (and eventually marries) Akane Kimidori late in the series. ; : (Anime 1), Kouji Yada (Anime 2) :The father of the family. Built a family spaceship, the "Reh Tsu Go" (a play on the phrase "let's go"), which crashed in Penguin Village. An even bigger pervert than Senbei, the two of them have become friends. ; : (Anime 1), Michie Tomizawa (Anime 2) :The mother of the family, who also practices kung fu, like her son. She tends to beat up her husband when she catches him in acts (or even thoughts) of perversion. Her name comes from an old marketing jingle of the Japanese bicycle manufacturer Tsunoda. Penguin Village Police Force (Note that none of the police force are given names in the original comics (except for Charmy Yamada), although Gara and Pagos' names appear on a banner attached to a motor scooter they ride together early in the comic series. Polly Bucket's (English) name, on the other hand, was only given as an answer to one of the special bonus "quizzes" found in the English translation of the comic's tankōbon edition.) ; : (Anime 1), Michio Nakao (Anime 2) :The tall patrolman. He and his partner Gara constantly have their car destroyed (accidentally) by an excited running Arale. This character's first appearance was in the second half of the 1979 one-shot Wonder Island, also as a policeman, though the setting was entirely different. Gara and Pagos were named after Galápagos Islands ("garapagosu shotou"). ; : (Anime 1), Nobuhiko Kazama (Anime 2) :The shorter patrolman. Also appeared on Wonder Island; as hinted there, his name is likely a pun on the movie monster Garamon, who he somewhat resembles. ; : (Anime 1), Bin Shimada (Anime 2) :The police chief. ; : (Anime 1), Masako Katsuki (Anime 2) :The uzi-toting female cop. Her name is derived from the Japanese abbreviation "poribaketsu" (lit. "polyethylene bucket"). ; : (Anime 1) :A very dedicated Metropolis Island cop who joins the force later in the series. Other recurring characters ;Dr. : → Keiichi Noda (Anime 1), Yasuo Yamada (Anime 1 movies), Akira Kamiya (1992 movie), Ryoutarou Okiayu (Anime 2) :Senbei's evil mad scientist rival. Due to constant failed attempts at world domination, he is slowly forced to convert himself into a cyborg. He was modeled after Toriyama's editor at the time, Kazuhiko Torishima. ; : (Anime 1), Toru Furuya (Anime 2) :A Superman parody from a far away planet, who unfortunately has no real super powers or sense of justice. He typically "flies around" with his belly on a skateboard, throws grenades, and changes his clothes in a phone booth, eating an umeboshi to transform. Suppaman works as a reporter when in disguise as , which is a Japanese pun on the name Clark Kent (when pronounced in the "surname given name" order). He also has a younger brother, Syoppaman (lit. "salty" man), who eats shiokara to transform. Coincidentally, Suppaman was originally created to star in a manga of own but was rejected by Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima. Toriyama felt sorry for the character and subsequently resurrected him as a supporting character for his hit manga, Dr. Slump.Toriyama, Akira (1984). Dr. Slump, Volume 16. Viz Media. p. 146. ISBN 9781421510606. ; : (Anime 1), Bin Shimada (Anime 2) :The king of an alien planet. His race have their butts on their heads, their nostrils on the tips of their antennae, and their ears on their feet. He wishes to take over the Earth but his ship always breaks down (plus, he's kind of an ill-tempered idiot). In the manga, he speaks in Central Nagoya dialect, in which a native speaker of the dialect will find distinct from the author's Northern Nagoya dialect. In the anime, he speaks in a false Nagoya dialect. ; : (Anime 1), Ryou Horikawa (Anime 2) :King Nikochan's unnamed, sunglasses-wearing servant. He always comes to Earth with his master. He seems to be much smarter/sensible than the King.(He does not speak in Nagoya dialect.) ; :A small imp occasionally seen playing with Arale and the Gatchans. Originally sent to Penguin Village from Mount Flap-Flap to search for souls for his master, he eventually found that he'd much rather play with people than kill them (due in no small part to Arale's persistance), though he still takes a shot at it every once in a while. His equally crazy sister, Witchpee, has also had a crush on many male members of the main cast at one time or another. ; : (Anime 1), Minori Matsushima (Anime 2) :Tarzan hero wannabe with almost exactly the same face as Suppaman and Bubibinman; shares a mutual dislike with Suppaman. ; : :Hero-wannabe from Suppaman's planet, who came to Earth after hearing that Suppaman (whom he perceives as a weakling) had become a hero here, using his powers of flight and superhuman strength; ultimately, he is side-tracked by his fly tendencies (and resulting diet). ; : (Anime 1), Noriko Uemura (Anime 2) :A toddler who lives in Penguin Village and spends her days riding her tricycle and laughing at others for not keeping up with fashion. ; : (Anime 1), Nobuo Tobita (Anime 2) :Arale's high school teacher. He has a huge head which is shaped like a chestnut. (The "kuri" in his name means "chestnut" and "-gashira" (kashira) means "head". "Dai" is "big", and "Daigorou" is also the Japanese given name of Takamiyama, a popular former Sumo wrestler from Hawaii.) His character style was used as model of Kurita Ryokan. ; : (Anime 1), Kappei Yamaguchi (Anime 2) :A Kitsune fox who likes to transform into things and scare people. ; : (Anime 1), Houko Kuwashima (Anime 2) :Peasuke's (much taller) girlfriend, who he saved from a bug after she was hit by Senbei's big-small ray gun. He marries her in the future and they have a child, Poosuke. ; :Known in the English translation as "Trampire," this vampiress loves blood and money. She tries to suck Arale's blood and steal Senbei's money only to fail on both accounts in the end. She is later seen working as a part time reaper for Enma and is sent to reap Senbei's soul but ends up getting fired due to Arale's interference. She is accompanied by a nameless monster (similar in appearance to Frankenstein's monster) who can transform into a wolfman. Despite the fact that she's a monster herself, she's very put off by the strange creatures going on around her. ; :The Ulteeny Force member who is called upon for help when the dreadful Dodongadon shows up and starts terrorizing Penguin Village. He also transforms into the superhero, Kintaman (no relation to Kinnikuman-related Kintāman, nor to another manga Chōjin Kintaman). In the original manga, he belongs to the Uruchora Police Force (Uruchora Keisatsutai), a parody of the Ultra Guard (Urutora Keibitai) of Ultra Seven. ; : (Anime 1), Chika Sakamoto (Anime 2) :One of several coiled poos (which look much like soft ice cream) that appears occasionally, tends to have a sense of justice in general, has feet to run around with (in Japanese children's books, a similar character with the same name appears to teach children potty training). ; : (bird, robot) and Hideyuki Tanaka (human) (Anime 1) :A self-caricature of the manga's author Akira Toriyama, who is depicted as a mountain-like bird (the name Toriyama means bird mountain), a robot, or a man wearing a surgical mask. In vol. 8, he challenges Arale to a race. Arale seems to have won, but Toriyama claims otherwise, and was most likely banned from the town. ; :Toriyama's 2nd assistant. : ; :Takoyaki cook, the model of this character is Akira Sakuma, a notable game designer and a co-author of Toriyama's book. ; : :The deity who rules over the galaxy surrounding the Earth and is the creator of Gatchan. He resembles an elderly bearded man and despite his status as "God," he lives in a humble-looking cabin. Kami-sama was the inspiration for the character of Kame-Sennin from Toriyama's subsequent series Dragon Ball.Toriyama, Akira (1986). Dragon Ball, Volume 2. Viz Media. p. 192. ISBN 9781569319215. ; : (Anime 1), Shinichirō Ōta (Anime 2) :The sun that sometimes oversleeps and thus delays dawn, wears sunglasses, eats ice cream and complains about heat. Fictional crossovers After Dr. Slump ended, the characters of Dr. Slump returned for an extended cameo in Toriyama's next manga series Dragon Ball. In chapter 81-83 of Dragon Ball, Arale and Goku briefly team up to help Goku defeat General Blue during the Red Ribbon storyline. Influence on Japanese culture Trademark expressions from the manga include: * : Senbei's greeting and a truncation of "konnichiwa" (hello, or good afternoon); also used by Arale * : bye * : an expression used by Arale to signify bewilderment or mild confusion * : Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of an airplane engine * : "Ohayou" (Good morning) + "Konbanwa" (Good evening) + "Konnichiwa" (Good afternoon) These expressions had gone on to become part of Japanese culture. In addition, the round glasses Arale wears have inspired the Japanese phrase "arare megane" (Arale glasses). In the manga, Toriyama himself has been portrayed as a bird (the "tori" in his last name means "bird", hence the name of his production studio Bird Studio), although Toriyama actually based the design of Senbei on himself (as a number of American comic strip artists have been known to do). He has also portrayed himself as a small robot with dark goggles, and simply a middle-aged man with dark sunglasses and contagion mask (signifying anonymity). In addition, other real people made appearances as well, such as Toriyama's bosses (like Torishima), assistants, and wife, Toriyama's colleague friends (like Masakazu Katsura), and others. Media Manga Dr. Slump was originally serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump from issue 5/6 of 1980 to issue 39 of 1984 and subsequently collected in 18 tankōbon volumes under the Jump Comics imprint. It was reassembled as a 9-volume aizoban edition in 1990, a 9-volume Bunkokan edition in 1995 and a 15-volume Kanzenban edition in 2006. Viz Media began publishing an English adaptation of Dr. Slump in 2005 with translation done by Alexander O. Smith. All 18 volumes are now released as of May 5, 2009. Spin-offs A Dr. Slump follow-up was serialized in V Jump from 1994 to 1996 titled , which was collected in four tankōbon volumes. It was written by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru and illustrated by Takao Koyama for Bird Studio. To promote the release of the first Dr. Slump & Arale-chan DVD-Box set, Akira Toriyama illustrated a special one-shot spin-off titled Dr. Mashirito & Abale-chan published in the fourth 2007 issue of the Weekly Shōnen Jump. The story centers around an evil counterpart of Arale created by Dr. Mashirito named Abale. Dr. Mashirito & Abale-chan was adapted into a five-minute short shown theatrically alongside the One Piece feature film Episode of Alabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates. Anime The Dr. Slump manga was made into two separate anime TV series; the first, Dr. Slump - Arale-chan (Dr.スランプ アラレちゃん) ran from 1981 to 1986 and spanned 243 episodes, and the second anime, Doctor Slump, ran from 1997 to 1999 and lasted seventy-four episodes. In addition to the series, eleven animated films have been made. The first episode of the original anime was adapted into English by Harmony Gold USA in 1984, but the pilot was never picked up. Staff * Director: Minoru Okazaki, Yoshiki Shibata, Daisuke Nishio, Akinori Nagaoka * Script: Masaki Tsuji, Shun'ichi Yukimuro, Tomoko Konparu, Michiru Shimada * Character Designs: Shinji Koike * Animation Director: Shinji Koike * Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi Movies #' ' (1981) #' ' (1982) #' ' (1983) #' ' (1984) #' ' (1985) #' ' (1993) #' ' (1993) #' ' (1994) #' ' (1994) #' ' (1999) #' ' (March 3, 2007) - A five-minute short shown alongside the theatrical release of One Piece Episode of Alabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates. It was later included in Dr. Slump Movie Box. Video games A "Dr. Slump" game called "Hoyoyo Bomber" by Animest was released as a Game & Watch clone in 1982 in Japan. A Dr. Slump video game for the PlayStation based on the second television series was released on 18 March 1999 in Japan only. In Jump Super Stars, Arale and Mashirito are battle koma (playable characters), with the latter as the game's main antagonist. They both return in the sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars, in exactly the same roles. Senbei Norimaki isn't playable but is a Help Koma that can strengthen Arale if his Koma is adjacent to Arale's Koma. In Jump Ultimate Stars, Midori, Gatchan, Obotchaman and Unchi-kun were added to the series' roster, appearing as Help Koma. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Arale appears as a playable character and Penguin Village is a playable map. In the PS2 game Super Dragon Ball Z, Suppaman appears in the background of the city level. After breaking the porta-potty, Suppaman will roll off on his skateboard. A Dr. Slump video game for Nintendo DS was released on 30 October 2008. Arale can be unlocked as a playable character in the multiplayer fighting in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo. Arale is playable in Dragon Ball: Origins 2. References External links * Official Site * Dr. Slump on Toei Animation * Arale's Jumpstation Dr. Slump Fan site * Category:1981 television series debuts Category:1984 television series endings Category:Akira Toriyama Category:Anime of 1981 Category:Comedy-drama anime and manga Category:Manga of 1980 Category:Running gags Category:Science fiction anime and manga Category:Shogakukan Manga Awards Category:Shōnen manga Category:Shunsuke Kikuchi Category:Viz Media manga Category:Anime films ca:Dr. Slump de:Dr. Slump es:Dr. Slump fr:Dr Slump gl:O doutor Slump e Arale id:Dr. Slump it:Dr. Slump & Arale ms:Dr. Slump ja:Dr.スランプ pl:Dr. Slump pt:Dr. Slump sv:Dr. Slump tl:Dr. Slump th:ดร.สลัมป์ กับหนูน้อยอาราเล่ tr:Dr. Slump vi:Tiến sĩ Slump zh:IQ博士